New Pamono French Color Lithographs, Framed, Set of 2

Particular and interesting pair of French color lithographs; the subjects are a cute little girl holding a puppy dog on her neck and the other is a viscous little boy holding a cat in his arms; these are color lithographs, and the black background has been done in watercolor to contour and makes the two subjects stand out more; the lithographs were made between 1840 and 1866 by the Regnier, Bettanier and Morlon workshop, painters and engravers active in Paris who specialized in colorful lithographic engravings in graduated tints; are also present with their works at the “Musèe Carnavalet Histoire de Paris.”; the engravings were then transferred to the Frères Becquet letterpress-lithography in Rue des Noyers in Paris for printing. The Frères Becquet firm, established in 1845, specialized in publishing, typography, and lithography, and was famous for producing abundant iconography of the future Napoleon III, then the imperial family, and military expeditions. The authors’ names are shown on the lithographs and highlighted in photos. Very important are the two beautiful and understated frames that were created especially for the two lithographs, also made between 1840 and 1866 from solid wood and then finished with gold leaf. This type of gilding has very special workmanship: after the cabinetmaker has skillfully shaped the wood and assembled the frames, the gilder intervenes and spreads “Armenian bole,” a red-pigmented clay powder mixed with glue, on the frames and lets it dry. Finally apply the gold leaf, a buckskin pad, the gilder’s palette, gold is very thin, impalpable leaves and the vaio (squirrel hair, characterized by extreme softness and elasticity, processed according to an ancient technique handed down by furriers.) brush are needed; the craftsman cuts the gold to the necessary size and after abundantly wetting the surface to be gilded with warm water with a round brush, draws the leaf from the buckskin pad where it was resting with the gilder’s palette. This is done by electrostatically charging the hairs on the palette by first rubbing it on a cheek, hair, or fabric. After that, the gold leaf should be laid very gently on the wet surface making it adhere by blowing lightly. It is important to proceed in small pieces by dabbing lightly with a cotton ball. When the gilding is dry, it is lightly rubbed to clean off the crumbs with buckskin, and the excess gold is removed, finishing it off by passing an agate stone burnisher over the gilded surface several times to give it luster, shine, and smoothness. We enclose a few demonstration photos because even nowadays in upscale antique artisan workshops, people prefer to use this ancient workmanship rather than modern industrial gilding. Our two frames with colored lithographs are two objects of great aesthetic effect, original and implying. The lithographs show some stains of time justifiable by their more than 150 years of life, the frames have been restored however in some parts the pure gold appears worn, but this makes the two objects much more fascinating and historically interesting. A curiosity: the world’s oldest gold leaf company is Manetti of Florence, which from the 1600s to the present has supplied gold leaf to the entire world for small jobs, fashion, food, and immense works, such as Union Station in Washington, the statue of General Sherman in New York’s Grand Army Plaza, the dome of the New Hampshire State House, the gold ball on Brunelleschi’s Dome in Florence, and many other collaborations with artists and designers. Measurements of each frame width cm.28, height cm.36, depth cm.3; interior measurements width cm.20, height cm.27.